Adrian Sinclair

Adrian Sinclair is a collaborative, curious and committed person with a dash of good humor. He lives on the unceded and ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil Waututh people aka “Vancouver,” BC with his wife and lifetime muse, Brandy Colton.

His favourite thing in the world is to help people develop their superpower and provide a platform, resources and amplification to share it with the world.

As a Co-founder and Director of Engagement & Partnerships at Vancouver Mural Festival (VMF) and Winter Arts Festival (WAF), he develops strategy, funding and partnerships to support artists and community members to co-create public programming, placemaking, events, and public art in Vancouver and beyond.

His aim is to build a more equitable, joyful, and inclusive city by transforming public spaces with art, culture and placemaking.

Why? Because he believes the health and diversity of the cultural ecosystem enhances the overall equity, joy and safety of the places we live.

He has had the extreme privilege to co-create year-round and festival specific programming unique to VMF and WAF. He has also enjoyed developing public art and event programming in partnership with organizations in the private and public sector. A few of these include VMF’s: Emerging Artist Training Program, Blanketing The City Mural Series, VMF Artist Residency Program, VMF Artist Talks, VMF Mural Tour Program, VMF’s Indigenous Capacity Building Program, VMF’s Guest Curator Program, and the annual Murals Without Walls Program.

These programs were built in consultation with artists and community members, over long-term timelines, in multi-layered partnerships with organizations like Kickstart Disability Arts & Culture, BC Hydro, Vancouver Coastal Health, The Overdose Prevention Society, Simon Fraser University, Vancity Credit Union, The Vancouver Parks Board, many Business Improvement Associations, Property Developers, City of Vancouver, City of Victoria and more.

We have produced over 430 murals, 16 annual free outdoor public art and music festivals for over +500,000 attendees since 2016. Over 38% of the artists created their first piece of public art at VMF — they also grained crucial experience with hands-on training as part of the Emerging Artist Training program.

Adrian has an MA in Philosophy, specializing in queer literary theory, digital embodiment, and phenomenology from the University of Western Ontario. He is a sauna enthusiast, musician, surfer, and a daily gong fu cha (tea) drinker.